


The Prince and The Knight

by sacredsymbol821



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-11-27 11:15:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18193865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sacredsymbol821/pseuds/sacredsymbol821
Summary: Ryoma is used to dealing with Faceless.  However, when a Faceless attack leaves one of his retainers incapacitated, he is forced to work with Silas for awhile.





	The Prince and The Knight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [saturnulysses](https://archiveofourown.org/users/saturnulysses/gifts).



> I have a bit of explaining to do before this fic. This was a Secret Santa for one of my oldest friends in December, and I forgot about it until it was brought up in a Discord chat a few days ago. It was extremely well received, so I asked Uly if I could post it and he said yes so that's why it's being posted now in late March.

Ryoma stared out the window with his hand clasped behind his back.

The arena was open, but no one had stepped into it for awhile now.

The army wasn’t exactly restless, but something was off. As High Prince of Hoshido, it was his job to know these things. At the same time, he didn’t know what was causing this and that was distressing.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath that was almost a sigh.

In that moment, he felt Saizo appear next to him without actually seeing it. His eyes never left the arena. From the corner of his eye, he saw Saizo kneel with both knees on the ground with his hands in his lap.

“Milord.” Saizo announced his presence then.

“Yes, Saizo?” Ryoma asked, finally turning from the arena he was staring at so intently.

“Milord, there’s a war meeting about to start.”

Ryoma frowned.

“I thought there were none scheduled today?” He asked. Saizo’s good eye tightened for a second in recollection. “There weren’t supposed to be. However, Kagero found something while out scouting.” He finished.

Ryoma didn’t notice the death grip the man was putting on his own thigh, but he said nothing of it. He was too distracted by the manner at hand.

“Then I suppose I should head there as soon as possible. Thank you, Saizo.” Ryoma said, before striding over to the tent where they usually held their war meetings as casually as he could muster.

Sakura was the first one his eyes fell upon when he entered with Saizo right on his heels. She looked up from what she was doing to see him.

“Big brother!” She greeted, relieved.

At that moment, Corrin barged into the tent around him. He couldn’t see her eyes as she went too fast, but he did feel the wind she left in her wake.

“Corrin! Wait up!” A flash of spiky grey hair also went past Ryoma, who was trying to maintain his composure at not being able to see inside the tent.

Once there, the knight put his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

“You didn’t let me finish talking!” He said indignantly to Corrin. Everyone in the tent heard it. Hinoka rolled her eyes and put her spear down with the threat not being a threat at all. Takumi just frowned more with his arms crossed. 

Ryoma didn’t realize he wasn’t breathing and took a quiet deep breath in before clearing his throat.

Everyone except Sakura looked at him. He readied himself for the onslaught of questions that he himself didn’t know the answers too.

He looked toward Sakura who was working on a particularly nasty cut- to Kagero’s shoulder. It wasn’t just one cut, either. As Ryoma focused behind his youngest sister, he saw that they were all deeper than he had recognized before.

“Sakura, what happened to Kagero?” He asked aloud, before anyone else could say anything to him.

Sakura sighed, looked up and opened her mouth before freezing and looking around. Her eyes widened a little bit, and she looked back nervously toward Kagero, who was looking at her expectantly.

“S-she was attacked by a F-Faceless.” Sakura said quickly.

“A Faceless?” Corrin asked incredulously.

Silas had finished catching his breath and looked toward Corrin, who looked towards him. Everyone had turned to face them both.

“It wasn’t any Faceless.” Kagero replied.

“What does that mean?” Saizo asked. He somehow sounded more severe than usual, and he was also right next to Ryoma’s ear, which made it seem louder than it was. 

Ryoma blinked and jerked his head to the left to get away from the offending noise, but continued to listen to Kagero with his other ear.

“It was much bigger than a Faceless has any right being.” She said quietly.

All energy in the tent died out.

“How?” Takumi asked then, his eyes narrowing in on Silas, who was still looking at Corrin. He was standing at full height now.

Corrin stepped forward then. Her chin was up and she was looking at Takumi directly.

“Silas doesn’t know how to do magic.” She said firmly.

“How do you know that? I’m sure someone over in Nohr could have taught him quiet easily.” Takumi shot back.

The glare on Corrin’s face was apparent now.

“That’s enough.” Ryoma said sternly.

The attention was on him now.

“I have watched Silas train with Corrin and all of us for a few months now. Never has he shown any sign of magical ability. Fostering panic will not help this situation.” He finished.

Corrin immediately relaxed, and sat on the other end of the tent.

Silas looked at Ryoma, opened his mouth to say something, then his eyes went back to Corrin, and he joined her without saying a word to him.

“Silas did not follow me into the Forest, either.” Kagero replied.

That was distressing. That meant there was a Nohrian Spy in their midst, or something much more sinister.

“So, what do we do now?” Hinoka asked.

“I volunteer to go patrol the forest!” Corrin and Silas said at the exact same time, practically shooting out of their seats to raise their hands.

“How big was the Faceless?” Takumi asked Kagero.

She winced as a particularly deep cut healed itself with a touch of Sakura’s staff. 

“Double the size of the ones that are seen around here usually.” She answered. 

“That sounds big.” Hinoka nodded.

“Groups of four, then?” Takumi suggested.

“That might be to big of a group.” Hinoka said.

“They can be twelve feet tall. We need to be careful.” Takumi shrugged at her.

Ryoma shook his head again.

“Four people moving through the forest will make too much noise.” He thought aloud.

“Not if they’re not armored. Fliers can be silent, too.”

Corrin had sat back in her chair for a moment before standing up again.

“What about groups of three? They cost less resources and can move quieter.”

There was a murmur of agreement around the tent.

Silas also nodded.

“Good.” Ryoma gave a slight nod to Corrin, who smiled in response.

“We will give out assignments later today and tomorrow. For now, everyone is dismissed to go about their duties.” He said. 

Takumi left with a huff, and Hinoka left after him, giving a slight nod to Ryoma as she left. 

Corrin and Silas began having a conversation in whispers, which Ryoma ignored as he turned to leave the tent himself.

“Um, Ryoma?” Sakura asked him.

“Yes, Sakura?” He asked her.

Sakura took a deep breath before speaking.

“It’s going to take Kagero awhile to heal.” She said quickly.

Saizo turned around to face Sakura.

“Milady, are you saying she was mauled?” He asked indignantly.

“Uh. Yes.” Sakura answered him.

Saizo nodded, then left the tent hurriedly. Ryoma could have sworn that he heard Nohrian Scum come out of his retainers mouth as he passed by him on the way out of the tent.

“How long will she be out of commission?” He asked Sakura.

“The wounds were really deep. If she had gotten here any later and… well. She m-may have lost the arm.” Sakura told him.

“A month, then?” He asked her.

“Three weeks. Unless you heal fast.” She said towards Kagero, who nodded. She looked awfully pale.

“Thank you, Sakura.” Ryoma said. He had other things to attend to, and was walking out the tent flap when Corrin- and Silas caught him outside at the same time.

“Hello, Corrin. Silas.” Ryoma greeted. He narrowed his eyes at Corrin, but her face betrayed nothing other than the slight frown she was currently wearing.

“Hi, Ryoma. Silas wants to talk to you about something.” Corrin replied.

“He...does?” Ryoma asked, looking at the knight.

Silas looked directly at him before bowing his head.

“Yes, milord. We overheard your conversation with Lady Sakura, and I was wondering…” Silas lost his breath for a second, before Corrin put a hand on his shoulder. He looked back at her and nodded before looking back at Ryoma.

“I was wondering if you would let me take Kagero’s place while she’s gone!” He said loudly, causing Corrin to jump, wince, then look around to see if anyone had heard him scream.

Ryoma blinked at them.

“Corrin, are you sure about this?” He asked.

“Yes. Silas suggested it to me, and I have Jakob, Felicia and Kaze to help me out until he gets back.” She assured him. Silas nodded in silent agreement.

Ryoma wasn’t sure how much he believed in Felicia’s abilities to not burn something down or cook properly, but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“If he is willing to give his services, I would be happy to have him.” Ryoma bowed his head to Corrin and Silas.

“Great! When does he start?” Corrin asked.

Silas cleared his throat and looked at Corrin.

“I was thinking as soon as possible.” He admitted.

Ryoma’s eyes widened, but then fell back to his neutral expression.

“Of course.” He replied, and began walking to his next destination with Silas at his heels.

Having a Nohrian Knight following him was odd- and much more noisy than ninja. His armor was clanking so much that Ryoma was almost having trouble thinking to himself during the walk.

He walked into his tent to get something, and heard Silas stop outside before standing there at attention. It was the only time Ryoma could hear the wind blowing.

As he left the tent, Ryoma heard Saizo before he actually appeared in front of him. Silas took a step back in surprise.

Saizo looked at Silas with his good eye, then looked at Ryoma. He did this a few times before his gaze narrowed at Silas, before he put his head down and kneeled at Ryoma’s feet. 

“Milord, is there a reason for this?” He asked as cooly as Saizo could muster.

It was cool enough to still make Silas wince.

Ryoma sighed.

“Silas volunteered his services to me until Kagero returns to her duties.” He summarized.

“Oh. Milord, how long will that be?” Saizo asked.

“Sakura says about a month.”

Saizo dipped his head in a nod, then looked toward Silas. 

“Understood. Thank you, milord.” Saizo said, then took one last look toward Silas. Thankfully, Ryoma noted that it was more of an appraisal look. Then, he was gone.

“Whoa...they can do that?” Silas asked out loud, then remembered he wasn’t alone and sighed.

“I mean… I forgot my tent over there!” He said, then marched away before Ryoma could say a word.

Ryoma took a long look around. He was pretty sure he was alone. He shook his head and sighed.

>>>>>>>>>>>>

On the third day of this arrangement, he, Silas and Saizo took a look at the patrol list that Corrin handed him. She attempted to stifle a yawn as he looked over it. Azura and Felicia heard her stifle the yawn and both frowned.

Ryoma was too lost in thought to notice it himself.

“This looks fine, Corrin. Thank you for putting this together on so short notice.”

“It’s no problem! Though, we still have the problem of who is going to actually go into the forest first for the patrols. I volunteer.” Corrin said.

Azura, Felicia, and Silas all opened their mouths to say something, saw that they were all going to be talking at once, and closed their mouths.

Ryoma simply shook his head.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Corrin.” He said calmly.

“It’s not?” She asked.

“No. You’re already without Silas, and seem to have gone without sleep for the past several days. We’ll do the first patrol.” He nodded towards Silas and Saizo.

Silas nodded, and so did Saizo.

Corrin went to open her mouth-when Azura grabbed her hand on one side, and Felicia on the other.

“Thank you, Lord Ryoma. We’ll make sure she gets some rest now!” Felicia said, and before Corrin could protest him or them, dragged her out the tent.

Ryoma was very certain that Silas laughed lowly at that. He had never heard the man laugh before, and it was a good sound that was enough to almost make Ryoma smile.

He shook his head, and stood up from the chair as he walked outside the tent and looked toward the forest.

He couldn’t see anything from here. The trees were much too tall to see over, and all that could be heard was the rustling of wind.

He looked over to Silas, who was staring at the forest with his eyes narrowed.

“Do you see anything, Silas?” He asked aloud.

Silas shook his head.

“No, Milord. I don’t even see birds on the trees. I think that’s what’s so odd about it.” He replied, still continuing to look at them.

Ryoma’s eyes widened before he nodded to himself.

“Are there many birds in Nohr?” He asked.

Silas stared at him for a moment.

“Owls and bats, mostly. On the rare times it’s sunny in the summer, we’ll see some blue jays and robins.” He finished.

“There are no faceless birds?” Ryoma asked.

Silas frowned at him for a second, then smiled as his eyes began to twinkle before he let out a light chuckle.

“No, milord. The faceless are not wildlife in Nohr. We rarely see them out in the wilderness when we’re out hunting.”

“Thank you, Silas.” Ryoma replied.

The knight grinned at him and nodded before falling silent again.

At some point when they were walking closer and closer to the tall trees, Saizo appeared next to him without a word.

The trees were still getting taller and taller as they approached the forest. Finally, Ryoma saw the entrance. Before he went in, he stopped.

Now that they were at the entrance to the forest, he realized he couldn’t see anything inside or outside, and it looked like nighttime inside of it.

Instinctually, the grip on Rajinato tightened.

It was hard to read Saizo’s expression because of his mask, but he could see that the man's hand was near his hip where his throwing stars were.

Even Silas looked unnerved, his face pulled into a frown with his spear held tightly at his side.

“If it’s in there, it’s very quiet.” Silas said, unprompted.

Ryoma grimaced at that.

“That’s not a good thing.” Saizo replied to Silas.

“I know. I’m still trying to figure out how it could have snuck up on Kagero. The ninja aren’t exactly…” Silas stopped for a moment as he pondered what he was going to say next.

“Known for their ignorance.” He finished.

Saizo looked at Silas.

“Is that a compliment or an insult?” He asked him.

Ryoma instinctually opened his mouth to protest, but Silas beat him to it.

“A compliment. I was only a knight for a little while, but I saw the ninja in action.” He replied.

Saizo still kept his hand on his throwing star, but his shoulders relaxed a little, and he dipped his head towards Silas.

Silas nodded, and they both looked toward the forest.

“Our mission here is too find this Giant Faceless and destroy it. One of our people wounded is enough. If luck is with us, we’ll find it within a few days and return victorious.” Ryoma told both of them.

Silas nodded to show he had heard, and Saizo did as well.

Then, they stepped into the forest, and Ryoma only looked back once to see the light fading away from the open sky. Through the few cracks in the forest ceiling, he could see that it was still daytime. Other than that, it was dark, and the only things he could see and hear was the crunching of Silas’s feet and Saizo’s very soft footfalls.

He was now thankful for the clanking of Silas’ armor, as it showed him that he and Saizo weren’t alone in the forest, hunting a beast that was likely very dangerous.

They walked for hours, and found no sign of it.

“We’ll stop here for the night.” Ryoma said.

“I’ll take first watch.” Saizo volunteered.

Ryoma shook his head.

“With how big of a creature this is, I think we should watch in shifts of two.” He told Saizo, who nodded.

“I’ll take first watch!” Silas volunteered.

“So will I. Saizo, please get some rest.”

Saizo nodded, then disappeared.

Silas sat on the ground against a tree, with his back facing the main pathway of the forest. 

Ryoma sat next to him.

There was silence between them for a very long time, and then Silas began to tap something, something that Ryoma could feel through the tree.

“Is something the matter, Silas?” Ryoma asked quietly.

Silas looked at him, or Ryoma thought he did.

“I’m just having trouble adjusting, milord.” Silas admitted.

“What do you mean?” Ryoma asked.

“Well. In Nohr, these small team stakeouts are a lot louder. Right now, all I have to interact with is my spear and listen to myself think.” 

“Louder? Are people yelling?”

He felt Silas smile at him, then.

“No, milord. I’m just used to a lot more talking, is all.” Silas answered.

“Does that mean you can see the road?”

“No, my eyesight is nowhere near as good as Corrins at night.” Silas replied. 

“I see.” Ryoma finished, and the conversation tapered off. 

As their watch wore on, Ryoma wondered if Silas was asleep because he hadn’t moved positions in a very long time.

He was about to open his mouth to ask him this when he saw Silas’s hand unclutching and clutching his spear.

“I think it’s time for you to rest, Silas. I don’t see anything on this road.” Ryoma sighed, and got up.

“I don’t either, but my armor’s very loud compared to you guys, I realized as we were walking up here.” Silas answered.

“How much armor do you wear?” Ryoma asked him.

“The Nohrian standard is about...four layers of metal.” Silas answered chipperly.

Ryoma blinked as he processed that.

“And how much of that is actually used?” He said, then winced when he realized how loud he sounded.

“Just the outer layer. Even that the ninjas cut through sometimes. When I was still in Nohr, I mean.” Silas responded as he staggered over his words.

Ryoma nodded.

“I can put it on my horse. I don’t like the sound or lack thereof, of this Faceless, milord.” Silas told him.

“Neither do I, Silas.” Ryoma told him sincerely, before he had clanked back to camp and Saizo had taken his place.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Days passed, with no sign of the Faceless.

Ryoma sent a hawk to Corrin with a letter that said they hadn’t found it yet.

Every night, he and Saizo’s watch would go by, and then he and Silas would watch, and still nothing would happen.

Despite the situation, he grew more and more fond of his and Silas’s chats as they talked more.

The days turned to weeks, and there was still no sign of the faceless.

At the end of the second week, he sent a letter to Corrin saying that he was going to stay one more week to find the Faceless. If they couldn’t find it after the week was up, he would turn around and go back to camp.

Both Silas and Saizo needed the rest, and Kagero’s shoulder should be healed by then.

Ryoma would have been a little sad at that thought, but resolved to find the Faceless with both of them, who were both eager to please.

Three days into their last week in the forest, Silas sat in the clearing. It was a little lighter here than it was in the forest, and it was an extremely sunny day. The sound of running water could be heard. They were near a river.

Ryoma came to sit next to him, and Silas looked at him with a smile.

“It’s actually quite beautiful out here.” Silas told him as Ryoma approached.

“Now that we can actually see it I assume?” Ryoma sighed.

“Yeah. I imagine it would look alot better without this Faceless that I would be convinced is a Ghost if I hadn’t seen what it did to Kageros arm though.” Silas nodded to himself as he hugged himself a little bit.

Ryoma agreed.

“There were no tracks, no sources of animals being killed, or anything of the sort.”

“If you’re suggesting it’s someone’s idea of a practical joke, then I’m not sure I like it.” Silas said solemnly.

He blinked at Ryoma, who blinked back at him.

There was a pause for a moment.

“Milord.” He answered.

Maybe it was because he was tired of walking. Maybe it was because he wanted this Faceless gone. Whatever it was, Ryoma’s stomach sunk at being called a name that Silas had called him countless times.

“Is something wrong?” Silas asked then.

Ryoma blinked, and shook his head.

He was about to protest that nothing was wrong when suddenly, the ground shook.

Immediately, Silas leapt to his feet, his spear at the ready.

Rajinato jolted to life the second Ryoma pulled it out of its sheath, the electricity crackling up and down the blade expectantly. 

Both of their arms were brushing against each other.

Silas looked towards him expectantly. 

Ryoma managed to tear his eyes from where there skin was touching to the trees where they had felt the ground shake.

Saizo appeared beside them, causing them both to jump away from each other.

“What was that?” Saizo asked.

“No idea. It came from over there.” Silas pointed, then resumed his alert stance. 

“It must have been huge to make the ground shake like that.” Saizo muttered through his mask.

Both Silas and Ryoma nodded solemnly.

They all continued to stare at the tree.

Finally, Silas spoke up.

“Shouldn’t we go investigate it?” He asked.

He didn’t sound like he wanted to say it, but it did have to be said.

Saizo put a finger to his mask where his mouth was.

Silas nodded.

Ryoma stared at the space where the noise had came from, daring it to make another sound. The electricity in Rajinato crackling was the only noise the three of them made. As soon as Ryoma was about to sheath his blade, the roar came again, this time closer to where they were than it was before.

He noticed Silas wince this time, and Saizo’s eye narrowed.

“Milord, I’m going to go see what that is. I’ll be back momentarily.” He told Ryoma. He didn’t let Ryoma protest, and was gone in an instant.

Silas took a few steps toward the spot he was belatedly and then sighed.

“Is he always like that?”

“Not always. But others have told me that is him usually.” Ryoma nodded, also sighing.

“Commendable, but he could have gone after something huge, so we should probably follow him unless he ends up like Kagero or worse.” Silas replied, then began jogging towards the spot Saizo had disappeared too. Ryoma followed, still keeping his weapon ready.

When they arrived they saw that Saizo was huddling against the tree, with his hand on his waist. There was blood going down his pant leg and his breathing was labored.

“Saizo?” Silas asked, kneeling down to greet him quietly.

“That damn thing hits like a Nohrian.” Saizo replied.

Instinctually, Ryoma glanced towards Silas.

All the Knight did was blink and smile.

“Did you manage to hit it?” He asked.

Saizo nodded, then pointed with his other hand to his shoulder.

“We’ll take the rest of it from here Saizo. Please rest.” Ryoma said to him.

Silas got off of his knees then and looked toward Ryoma, before nodding. There was a steely determined look in his eyes, and it made Ryoma’s heart soar. Then, he turned around and strode off.

Ryoma followed him, giving Saizo a stiff nod as he passed him.

The road was quiet.

Too quiet.

If Ryoma hadn’t known Saizo since they were children, he would have thought the man had shot his shurikens at nothing, but sure enough, he saw a trail of them leading down and away from where he could see a very suspicious like Saizo imprint in one of the trees.

“Lord Ryoma!” Silas called from further down the path.

Ryoma had no idea he could move that fast, and he was preparing a mental lecture in his head about being more careful when on a mission like this, but the lecture died as he opened his mouth when he caught up to Silas.

In front of them was not one collapsed tree, but a pocketful of the forests trees had been destroyed.

Silas looked ahead, his brow furrowed. He didn’t say a word.

“If it was this big the whole time...why didn’t Saizo wait for us?” Ryoma asked aloud.

Silas continued staring into the distance.

“If it can get to Saizo that quickly, and be that big…” He trailed off, and looked at the ground.

Ryoma didn’t like it either. He felt dread wash over him, and the feeling sent shivers down his spine.

“We need to stop it.” Silas told him.

Ryoma nodded.

“I agree. It threatens our entire camp.” Ryoma answered carefully.

Silas nodded, and stepped over the tree. This time, he waited for Ryoma to step over the tree as well.

Finally, down the road, they saw it- the biggest faceless he had ever laid eyes on.

Instinctively, he looked over towards Silas.

His eyes were as wide as saucers, before he remembered to blink and went into a ready stance with his lance.

Ryoma debated pulling Rajinato out of his sheath at that moment- the Faceless couldn’t see, but they could still hear. He saw Silas move forward slowly, and did the same, his finger on Rajinato’s hilt the whole time for when he knew he would need it.

They were progressing slowly through the road, when something snapped beneath Silas’ foot. They both froze.

The Faceless heard the noise and shuffled toward them at a much faster speed than Ryoma thought would be possible for a creature that stood as high as most of the trees in the forest.

Silas froze, too, and he looked towards Ryoma before bringing his spear up in defense mode.

Ryoma drew Rajinato, and the blade crackled with electricity as it sprung to life. The beast stopped looking at Silas and looked at Ryoma.

That was what he wanted to happen, and he allowed himself to smirk at the beast instinctually. Before the beast knew what was happening, an arc of electricity zapped across his knee. 

The creature screamed, then took a swipe at where Ryoma had hit him.

Even it’s hits were faster than it anticipated, and Ryoma felt claws scrape through the side of his armor, a little deeper than he initially anticipated.

It only stung a little, and Ryoma grimaced before he resumed his stance.

Silas, seeing Ryoma get swiped and nearly crushed against the tree, took his lance and aimed it directly at the spot that was smoking from where Rajinato hit it. Instead of doing so, he grazed the beasts knee, and Ryoma watched as the Faceless brought his other arm down near Silas. This attack was much slower. When Ryoma glanced up, he saw a shuriken embedded into the beasts shoulder. 

Silas was expecting a much faster attack, but still managed to dodge easily. When he did, he looked at the Faceless and struck with determination this time, at the same spot he had been trying to before.

This time, the spear went through the creatures knee. 

At the same time, Ryoma went for the creatures other knee and Rajinato crackled across as the creature received another blow. Before he had time to process what was happening, The Faceless went and grabbed Silas, who wasn’t expecting the grab. He managed to stab the creature, and more black blood oozed from the wound. 

That just made the beast more angry, and it took Silas and slammed him against a tree. Ryoma heard his armor crack from the impact.

If he didn’t finish this now, Silas was going to die. He wouldn’t be able to stand himself if he had to tell Corrin he got her best friend killed on his watch. He wouldn’t be able to stand himself if he got Silas killed.

His smile was something that Ryoma liked to see. 

“I am Ryoma, High Prince of Hoshido, and you will stop terrorizing my people!” He bellowed, before charging the Faceless one last time before it could slam Silas into the tree again. When he did, the knee of the creature came clean off. It was almost his height, and it was in pain, but it was preparing to throw Silas again. 

Ryoma nearly stopped breathing before jumping up as far as he could and stabbing with one hand.

The monster finally stopped moving as it shook from all the electricity going through it, and slumped to the ground.

After all the yelling that had just happened, Ryoma took a moment to lean against a tree, after he pulled Rajinato from the corpse haphazardly.

Then, he remembered that Silas was on the ground under the giants hand. Ryoma kicked it- a small voice in his head told him that was very unprincelike of him- and took stock of the other man.

The force in which he had hit the tree had cracked his armor, and the other man was unconscious, with blood dripping from his nose. However, he was still breathing. Ryoma went to pick him up and nearly collapsed with pain when he realized that his ribs were hurting. 

He wanted to scream in frustration, but his throat hurt too much to do that as well.

He wasn’t leaving Silas to die like this.

At that moment, Saizo appeared.

“I know you told me to rest, milord, but I couldn’t leave you- you’re bleeding!” Saizo told him.

“It was a fearsome foe.” Ryoma told Saizo, before trying to get Silas off the floor.

“Milord. I’ll do it. I’m less injured than you, and he needs to be taken to a healer fast.” Saizo told him.

Ryoma didn’t like it, but Saizo was right. He stopped bending down and let his arms fall to the floor, before Saizo put his arms around his shoulders.

“How long will it take us to get back?” Ryoma asked.

“Well, I managed to summon Corrin by now. She should have sent the Kinshi in-” Saizo was cut off by the very loud flapping of wings.

They were whisked away from the forest and towards camp.

Ryoma was so exhausted from the ordeal, and from staying vigilant for the past three or so weeks that he fell asleep on the back of a Kinshi.

>>>>>>>>>>

He awoke at nighttime. Sakura looked extremely frazzled and concerned, but otherwise looked unharmed.

“Big Brother!” She greeted quietly, before her relieved smile turned into a frown.

“You all got hurt very badly.” She accused.

He almost smiled at that.

“I’m sorry, Sakura. I didn’t mean to worry you, or anyone else.” He said sincerely, and sat up. Sakura squeaked in anger at him even sitting up in bed so early after she had worked on him.

“I need to sit up, sister.” He placated her.

He saw her bite the inside of her cheek and pouted at him.

“Where are Silas and Saizo?” He asked, eager to get away from the subject of him.

“Saizo’s off doing whatever ninjas do.” Another voice came from his right. Corrin had just walked in.

He nodded to her. 

“And Silas?” He asked, looking to both of them.

“Up and about, though Sakura isn’t letting him anywhere near a lance. It’s making him a little stir crazy, actually.” Corrin smiled.

“That’s unfortunate.” Ryoma said, but he was fighting his own face to fight down a smile.

“Will you be okay, Big Brother?” Corrin asked, remembering to turn to him.

“He will be.” Sakura began.

“Unfortunately, h-he’s on bedrest for three days.” Sakura said, a little too brightly. Ryoma’s face fell. 

Corrin laughed then before leaving the tent.

The day passed with Ryoma being fussed over by Sakura. 

The sun set, and then rose again the next day. 

Sakura hadn’t returned to see him yet, and he had awoken early, as he usually did. This time, however, he couldn’t attend to his princely duties, so he was staring at a wall when someone shuffled into the healers tent, before walking down the hallway.

Immediately, Ryoma’s ears perked up, and he listened to the person in the hallway, who continued to shuffle around before he saw the flap open to his side of the tent.

Silas stared straight at him for a second, before looking back at the tent flap and sighing.

“They told me you’d woken up yesterday, but I was told by Corrin that Lady Sakura would attempt to beat me with her staff if I so much as walked near you. I didn’t know if she was joking, but I wasn’t gonna take any chances since I’m on the mend and all.” Silas finished talking rapidly, taking a deep breath in. He smiled then.

“I’m glad you’re alright!” He finished.

“It’s good to see you in one piece, as well.” Ryoma replied calmly.

Silas hesitated then, and his hand went to the back of his head.

“It was good working with you, Prince Ryoma.” He said finally.

Ryoma’s heart sank a little at that.

Silas couldn’t have possibly come all this way to see him to say that, could he have?

“It was nice working with you too, Silas.” He finished.

Silas cleared his throat again.

“I just wanted to say that and… to thank you. For saving my life, I mean.” Silas replied. He was talking to the ground at this point.

“It’s my duty to protect my people.” Ryoma replied.

“Yeah. Of course it is.” Silas replied. He sounded a little dejected at that, but he nodded again, still looking at the ground.

Ryoma felt like the butterflies in his stomach were going to make him spontaneously combust.

“Thank you for your service. You serve Corrin well.” Ryoma continued. He winced inwardly when he said that.

“It’s my job as her best friend. And I want to help...but that’s not why I offered my services. Well, yes it was.” Silas replied.

“I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.” He admitted.

Ryoma looked at him.

“Including when you almost died?” He asked before he could stop himself.

Silas looked at him and narrowed his eyes a little bit, before shaking his head and smiling.

“Including that. I’d die to protect my friends… and you.” 

Ryoma stared at him.

Silas froze when he realized what he had said.

“What I meant was...you’re Corrin’s brother and you mean alot to her and the army and I care about you and her alot and-”

Ryoma held up a hand to stop him.

“Silas.” He began, then stopped, before getting up from his bed to stretch his legs.

“I...I’m sorry, I’ll leave now, if you want me to.” Silas said.

“I don’t.” Ryoma replied, more firmly than he intended.

Silas looked up at him.

“You don’t?”

“I do not. I want you at my side.” Ryoma repeated, even more firmly than the last time.

“You do?” Silas was now looking at him quizzically.

“I do.” Ryoma shook his head with more force than before.

Silas stared at him for a minute, and Ryoma wondered if he had misinterpreted what Silas had said. Then, the other man smiled, and Ryoma allowed himself to breathe again.

“That makes me happier than you know.” Silas replied softly.

Ryoma could feel a warmth in his chest that he hadn’t recognized before. It was a calming sensation, and he allowed himself to indulge in the light fluttery feeling before he walked closer to Silas.

“Do I still have to call you Lord Ryoma now?” Silas wondered aloud.

Ryoma almost laughed at that.

“You tell me.” He told the knight.

“I would assume no?” Silas asked hopefully.

Ryoma simply nodded.

“Great! I’ll be going now!” He said chipperly, and walked towards the door.

“Silas, wait!” Ryoma said, grabbing his arm. 

“What is it?” Silas asked him, almost tiredly. Then, the other man looked into his eyes as Ryoma looked at his.

Before Ryoma could utter a word, Silas pressed his lips to his very forcefully. The force of the kiss shocked him enough that he didn’t react. When he was about to react, Silas pulled away, and Ryoma sighed before frowning.

“Wait, no, I’m sorry. I should have asked firs-” Silas said hurriedly.

“It’s alright, Silas. I enjoyed it.” Ryoma said.

“So...can I do it again?” Silas asked.

“You may.” Ryoma replied, much more casually than he felt.

Their lips touched again, and this time, Silas didn’t turn away. In fact, he didn’t move from the room for a very long time, and for that, Ryoma was grateful for.

That was, until Corrin walked in later that day to remind him that he still had duties as High Prince of Hoshido. Even then, however, he still felt light as a feather, and it wasn’t because he was on the mend.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this monstrosity of a oneshot! This was my first time writing Ryoma and only my second writing Silas, so I'm sorry if they seem a bit off at all. I'm sorry but I couldn't resist and had to throw one Nohrian Scum joke in here. Also, Saizo is very fun to write. On the subject of Saizo-I had Saizo react like that to Kagero getting hurt not because he still loves her but because they have a working professional relationship and I see them as friends and I don't imagine Saizo likes seeing his friends get hurt because he's human.
> 
> If you're interested in seeing more of my writing, you can check out the longfic I'm working on in the Awakening Tag, Lost and Alone, and if you want updates on when I'm posting anything really, check out my twitter @sacredsymbol821, and my tumblr that I barely use anymore of the same name! Thank you for reading and I hope you have a great day!


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